JP6946113B2 - Air Refrigerant Refrigerant Equipment, Air Refrigerant Refrigerant System and Air Refrigerant Refrigerant Method - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to an air refrigerant refrigerating apparatus using air as a refrigerant, an air refrigerant refrigerating system, and an air refrigerant refrigerating method.

There is known a freezing system capable of freezing frozen products at an ultra-cold temperature of −60 ° C. or lower using air, which is a natural refrigerant, as a refrigerant.
In Patent Documents 1 and 2, an air refrigerant containing air inside the freezer is compressed by a compressor, then heat exchanged with the air refrigerant on the upstream side of the compressor to cool the refrigerant, and the air refrigerant is adiabatically expanded by an expansion turbine to be ultra-low temperature. An air-refrigerant refrigeration system that supplies the air refrigerant to the freezer is disclosed.
As disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, heat exchange efficiency can be increased in a cooling system in which an ultra-low temperature air refrigerant directly mixes with the air in the freezer. However, moisture evaporated from foods and other objects to be frozen may mix with the air refrigerant and form frost, which may freeze and block the outlet nozzle and the circulation path of the air refrigerant. You need to drive.

The refrigerating apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a dehumidifying rotor whose surface is coated with an adsorbent and which can rotate around the axis, and while adsorbing moisture from an air refrigerant in one region of the rotating dehumidifying rotor, the other region. Since the moisture adsorbed by the regenerated air is dehumidified in, the air refrigerant can be dehumidified during the refrigeration operation.
In the refrigeration system disclosed in Patent Document 2, an adsorbent is applied to the flow path of a heat exchanger that exchanges heat between the air refrigerant on the upstream side of the compressor and the air refrigerant on the downstream side of the compressor, and the adsorbent is used as the air refrigerant. It is designed to adsorb the water contained in.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-90599 Japanese Patent No. 4185004

In the refrigeration system disclosed in Patent Document 1, since the air refrigerant taken out from the freezer at around -30 ° C is introduced into the dehumidifying rotor, frost contained in the air refrigerant at around -30 ° C freezes on the surface of the dehumidifying rotor. As a result, the dehumidifying function of the dehumidifying rotor may deteriorate. Further, in general, the adsorbent applied to the surface of the dehumidifying rotor has a reduced adsorption function in an environment of 0 ° C. or lower, and there is a possibility that the air refrigerant cannot be dehumidified.
The refrigerating system disclosed in Patent Document 2 also has the same problem as the refrigerating system disclosed in Patent Document 1 because the ultra-low temperature air refrigerant of −60 ° C. or lower in the freezer flows into the heat exchanger.

In view of the above problems, one embodiment aims to make it possible to remove water and frost contained in the air refrigerant during the refrigerating operation in the air refrigerant refrigeration system.

(1) The air refrigerant refrigerating device according to the embodiment is
An air-refrigerant passage that has an air-refrigerant outlet provided inside the freezer and an air-refrigerant suction port that includes air inside the freezer, and the air-refrigerant circulates.
A compressor provided in the air-refrigerant path and for compressing the air-refrigerant sucked into the air-refrigerant path from the suction port, and a compressor.
An expander provided in the air refrigerant path for decompressing and expanding the air refrigerant compressed by the compressor and returning it to the freezer.
A cold heat recovery heat exchanger provided in the air refrigerant path for heat exchange between the air refrigerant compressed by the compressor and the air refrigerant sucked into the air refrigerant path from the suction port.
A dehumidifier provided in the air refrigerant path on the downstream side of the cold heat recovery heat exchanger and on the upstream side of the compressor.
To be equipped.

According to the configuration of (1) above, the dehumidifier is provided on the downstream side in the flow direction of the air refrigerant from the cold heat recovery heat exchanger, and the air refrigerant heated by the cold heat recovery heat exchanger flows into the dehumidifier. Even if the dehumidifier does not cause freezing and the dehumidifier uses an adsorbent, the adsorption function of the adsorbent does not deteriorate, so that the water contained in the air refrigerant can be removed during the refrigeration operation.

(2) In one embodiment, in the configuration of (1) above,
The air-refrigerant passage does not have an outside air introduction portion between the air outlet and the suction port.
According to the configuration of (2) above, since the outside air is not introduced into the air refrigerant path, the moisture contained in the outside air is not mixed. Therefore, it is possible to suppress an increase in the amount of water contained in the air refrigerant.

(3) In one embodiment, in the configuration of (1) or (2) above,
The air refrigerant whose temperature has been raised to 0 ° C. or higher by the cold heat recovery heat exchanger is introduced into the dehumidifier as a dehumidifying target.
According to the configuration of (3) above, since the air refrigerant heated to 0 ° C. or higher by the cold heat recovery heat exchanger is introduced into the dehumidifier as the dehumidification target, freezing does not occur in the dehumidifier and the dehumidifier can be used. Even in a dehumidifier that uses an adsorbent, the adsorption function of the adsorbent does not deteriorate, so that the water contained in the air refrigerant can be removed during the refrigeration operation.

(4) In one embodiment, in any of the configurations (1) to (3) above,
The dehumidifier has an adsorbent capable of adsorbing water, and is configured to bring the adsorbent into contact with the air refrigerant to dehumidify the air refrigerant.
According to the configuration of (4) above, the dehumidifying effect of the air refrigerant can be improved by using a dehumidifier that dehumidifies with an adsorbent.

(5) In one embodiment, in the configuration of (4) above,
The dehumidifier is provided with a regenerated air passage for supplying regenerated air for regenerating the adsorbent.
According to the configuration of (5) above, the regenerated air supplied from the regenerated air passage to the dehumidifier can remove the moisture adsorbed on the adsorbent to regenerate the adsorbent. Further, since the regenerated air after being used for the regeneration of the adsorbent is discarded, it does not become a load on the freezer.

(6) In one embodiment, in the configuration of (5) above,
The regenerated air passage has a heater that preheats the regenerated air supplied to the dehumidifier.
According to the configuration of (6) above, the regenerated air supplied to the dehumidifier by the heater can be heated to reduce the relative humidity of the regenerated air, so that the regeneration effect of the adsorbent can be improved.

(7) In one embodiment, in the configuration of (5) or (6) above,
The regenerated air passage has a preheating heat exchanger that preheats the regenerated air by exchanging heat between the regenerated air supplied to the dehumidifier and the air refrigerant discharged from the compressor.
According to the configuration of (7) above, in the regenerating step of the dehumidifier, the regenerated air supplied to the dehumidifier can be preheated by the preheating heat exchanger to reduce the relative humidity, so that the regenerating effect of the dehumidifier can be improved. Further, the heat source of the preheat heat exchanger can be covered by the retained heat of the air refrigerant discharged from the compressor, and the air refrigerant refrigerating device is cooled by cooling the air refrigerant discharged from the compressor with the preheat heat exchanger. Thermal efficiency can be improved.

(8) In one embodiment, in any of the configurations (5) to (7) above,
The dehumidifier is composed of a dehumidifying rotor that is rotatable around the axis and coated with an adsorbent.
The dehumidifying rotor is arranged so as to straddle the air refrigerant passage and the regenerated air passage.
The dehumidifying rotor performs a dehumidifying step of dehumidifying the air refrigerant in a region arranged in the air refrigerant passage, and the region where moisture is adsorbed on the adsorbent in the dehumidifying step becomes a regenerated air passage by rotating the dehumidifying rotor. A regeneration step is performed in which the water is moved to the arranged region and the adsorbed water is desorbed there.
According to the configuration of (8) above, since the adsorbent can be regenerated during the freezing operation of the air refrigerant freezing device, the defrosting operation becomes unnecessary and the freezing operation can be continued.

(9) In one embodiment, in any of the configurations (5) to (7) above,
The dehumidifier is composed of a plurality of the dehumidifiers provided in parallel with the air refrigerant path.
Each of the plurality of dehumidifiers includes the regenerated air passage and is configured to be able to selectively communicate with the air refrigerant passage or the regenerated air passage.
According to the configuration of (9) above, at least one of the plurality of dehumidifiers can perform a dehumidifying step of the air refrigerant, and a regeneration step of desorbing the moisture adsorbed by the other dehumidifier can be performed. Therefore, since the regeneration step can be performed without stopping the refrigerating operation of the air refrigerant refrigerating apparatus, the defrosting operation becomes unnecessary and the refrigerating operation can be continued.

(10) In one embodiment, in the configuration of (8) above,
The regenerated air passage has an attraction fan for attracting the regenerated air to the dehumidifying rotor on the outlet side of the dehumidifying rotor.
According to the configuration (10), the regenerated air passage does not become high pressure by supplying the regenerated air to the dehumidifying rotor by the attraction fan during the regeneration process. Therefore, since the regenerated air can be suppressed from flowing into the air refrigerant path, it is possible to suppress the decrease in efficiency of the air refrigerant refrigerating device caused by the high temperature regenerated air flowing into the air refrigerant path on the compressor inlet side.

(11) The air refrigerant refrigeration system according to the embodiment is
With the freezer
An air refrigerant refrigerating device having any of the configurations (1) to (10),
To be equipped.
According to the configuration (11) above, the dehumidifier is provided on the downstream side in the flow direction of the air refrigerant from the cold heat recovery heat exchanger, and the air refrigerant heated by the cold heat recovery heat exchanger flows into the dehumidifier, so that the dehumidifier is dehumidified. Since freezing does not occur on the surface of the rotor and the adsorption function of the adsorbent does not deteriorate even when the dehumidifier uses an adsorbent, the water contained in the air refrigerant can be removed during the refrigeration operation.

(12) The air refrigerant freezing method according to the embodiment is
A circulation step of circulating the air refrigerant through an air refrigerant passage having an air refrigerant outlet provided inside the freezer and an air refrigerant suction port including the air inside the freezer.
A compression step of compressing the air refrigerant sucked into the air refrigerant path from the suction port with a compressor, and
An expansion step in which the air refrigerant compressed in the compression step is decompressed and expanded by an expander, cooled, and returned to the freezer.
A cold heat recovery step of exchanging heat between the air refrigerant compressed in the compression step and the air refrigerant sucked into the air refrigerant path from the suction port by a cold heat recovery heat exchanger.
A dehumidifying step of dehumidifying the air refrigerant whose cold heat has been recovered by the cold heat recovery heat exchanger with a dehumidifier,
To be equipped.

According to the method (12) above, in the dehumidification step, the air refrigerant whose temperature has been raised after the cold heat is recovered by the cold heat recovery heat exchanger is dehumidified by the dehumidifier, so that the dehumidifier does not freeze and the dehumidifier Even if the dehumidifier uses an adsorbent, the adsorption function of the adsorbent does not deteriorate, so that the water contained in the air refrigerant can be removed during the refrigeration operation.

(13) In one embodiment, in the method (12) above,
In the circulation step,
The air refrigerant and the object to be frozen come into direct contact with each other.
According to the method (13) above, since the air refrigerant and the object to be frozen are in direct contact with each other, the heat exchange efficiency between the air refrigerant and the object to be frozen can be improved.

(14) In one embodiment, in the method (12) or (13) above,
The dehumidifier is composed of a dehumidifying rotor that is rotatable around the axis and coated with an adsorbent.
The dehumidifying rotor is provided with a regenerated air passage for supplying regenerated air for regenerating the adsorbent.
The dehumidification step is
A dehumidifying step of dehumidifying the air refrigerant flowing through the air refrigerant path with the dehumidifying rotor,
A regeneration step in which the regenerated air is supplied from the regenerated air passage to regenerate the adsorbent is included.
As the dehumidifying rotor rotates, the dehumidifying step and the regeneration step are alternately performed in the adsorbent coating region of the dehumidifying rotor.

According to the method (14), in the dehumidification step, the dehumidification rotor rotates, so that the dehumidification step and the regeneration step are alternately performed in the adsorbent coating region of the dehumidification rotor, so that the dehumidification step is continued. The step of regenerating the adsorbent can be carried out.

(15) In one embodiment, in the method (14) above,
Prior to the regeneration step, a preheating step is provided in which the regenerated air is heat-exchanged with the air refrigerant discharged from the compressor to preheat the regenerated air.
According to the method (15), the relative humidity of the regenerated air supplied to the dehumidifier can be reduced by performing the preheating step, so that the regenerating effect of the adsorbent can be improved.

According to one embodiment, in the air refrigerant refrigeration system, moisture and frost contained in the air refrigerant can be efficiently removed during the refrigeration operation.

It is a system diagram of the air refrigerant refrigeration system which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a system diagram of the air refrigerant refrigeration system which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a system diagram of the dehumidifier which concerns on one Embodiment. It is a process drawing of the air refrigerant freezing method which concerns on one Embodiment.

Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the components described as embodiments or shown in the drawings are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention to this, and are merely explanatory examples.
For example, expressions that represent relative or absolute arrangements such as "in a certain direction", "along a certain direction", "parallel", "orthogonal", "center", "concentric" or "coaxial" are exact. Not only does it represent such an arrangement, but it also represents a state of relative displacement with tolerances or angles and distances to the extent that the same function can be obtained.
For example, expressions such as "same", "equal", and "homogeneous" that indicate that things are in the same state not only represent exactly the same state, but also have tolerances or differences to the extent that the same function can be obtained. It shall also represent the existing state.
For example, an expression representing a shape such as a quadrangular shape or a cylindrical shape not only represents a shape such as a quadrangular shape or a cylindrical shape in a geometrically strict sense, but also an uneven portion or chamfering within a range in which the same effect can be obtained. The shape including the part and the like shall also be represented.
On the other hand, the expressions "equipped", "equipped", "equipped", "included", or "have" one component are not exclusive expressions that exclude the existence of other components.

1 and 2 show the air refrigerant refrigeration system 10 (10A, 10B) according to some embodiments.
In FIGS. 1 and 2, the air refrigerant passage 16 has an outlet 17a and a suction port 17b inside the freezer 14. The air-refrigerant passage 16 is provided with air-refrigerant refrigerating devices 12 (12A, 12B) constituting a Brayton cycle including a compressor 18, an expander 20, and a cold heat recovery heat exchanger 22. The compressor 18 sucks the air inside the refrigerator from the suction port 17b into the air refrigerant passage 16 and compresses it. Inside the freezer 14, the relative humidity is almost 100% due to the moisture evaporating from the object to be frozen. The expander 20 expands the air refrigerant compressed by the compressor 18 under reduced pressure substantially under heat insulation to cool it to -60 ° C or lower, and supplies the air refrigerant compressed by the compressor 18 to the inside of the freezer 14 from the outlet 17a. do.

The cold heat recovery heat exchanger 22 exchanges heat between the air refrigerant compressed by the compressor 18 and the air refrigerant sucked into the air refrigerant passage 16 from the suction port 17b, and heats the air refrigerant supplied to the compressor 18. By cooling the air refrigerant supplied to the expander 20, the thermal efficiency of the air refrigerant refrigerating device 12 is improved.
A dehumidifier 24 is provided in the air refrigerant passage 16 on the upstream side of the compressor 18 on the downstream side of the cold heat recovery heat exchanger 22, and is included in the air refrigerant sucked from the suction port 17b and heated by the cold heat recovery heat exchanger 22. Remove water.

According to the above configuration, the dehumidifier 24 is provided on the downstream side in the flow direction of the air refrigerant from the cold heat recovery heat exchanger 22, and the air refrigerant heated by the cold heat recovery heat exchanger 22 flows in, so that the dehumidifier 24 freezes. Even if the dehumidifier 24 is a dehumidifier that uses an adsorbent, the adsorption function of the adsorbent does not deteriorate, so that moisture and frost contained in the air refrigerant can be removed during the refrigeration operation.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the compressor 18 and the expander 20 are connected to a single output shaft 26a of the drive unit 26 and are driven by the output shaft 26a.
In one embodiment, the drive unit 26 is, for example, a motor, and the compressor 18 and the expander 20 are each turbo type, and are rotationally driven by the output shaft 26a of the motor. As a result, the rotational force of the air refrigerant applied to the output shaft 26a by the decompression expansion of the air refrigerant in the expander 20 assists the power of the drive unit 26, so that the thermal efficiency of the air refrigerant refrigeration device 12 can be improved.

In one embodiment, the primary cooler 28 is provided in the air refrigerant passage 16 on the downstream side of the compressor 18. The high-temperature air refrigerant discharged from the compressor 18 is cooled by the primary cooler 28 by a cooling medium such as cooling water w. Thereby, the thermal efficiency of the air refrigerant refrigerating device 12 can be improved.

In one embodiment, the air refrigerant passage 16 does not have an outside air introduction portion between the air outlet 17a and the suction port 17b.
According to this embodiment, since the outside air is not introduced into the air refrigerant passage 16, the moisture contained in the outside air is not mixed. Therefore, it is possible to suppress an increase in the amount of water contained in the air refrigerant.

In one embodiment, an air refrigerant whose temperature has been raised to 0 ° C. or higher by the cold heat recovery heat exchanger 22 is introduced into the dehumidifier 24 as a dehumidification target.
According to this embodiment, since the air refrigerant whose temperature has been raised to 0 ° C. or higher by the cold heat recovery heat exchanger is introduced into the dehumidifier 24 as the dehumidification target, freezing does not occur in the dehumidifier 24. Further, even if the dehumidifier 24 is a dehumidifier that uses an adsorbent, the adsorption function of the adsorbent does not deteriorate because the temperature of the air refrigerant rises to 0 ° C. or higher. Therefore, the dehumidifier 24 can maintain the dehumidifying function of the moisture contained in the air refrigerant during the freezing operation.

In one embodiment, the dehumidifier 24 has an adsorbent capable of adsorbing moisture, and the adsorbent is brought into contact with the air refrigerant to dehumidify the air refrigerant.
According to this embodiment, the dehumidifying effect of the air refrigerant can be improved by using a dehumidifier that dehumidifies with an adsorbent.
As the adsorbent, for example, an inorganic compound-based adsorbent such as silica gel, zeolite, or activated carbon can be used.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the dehumidifier 24 is provided with a regenerated air passage 30 for supplying regenerated air for regenerating the adsorbent. For example, outside air a is used as the regenerated air.
According to this embodiment, the regenerated air supplied from the regenerated air passage 30 to the dehumidifier 24 can remove the moisture adsorbed on the adsorbent to regenerate the adsorbent. Further, since the regenerated air after being subjected to the regeneration of the adsorbent is exhausted to the outside of the system, it does not become a load on the freezer 14.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the regenerated air passage 30 has a heater 32 that preheats the regenerated air supplied to the dehumidifier 24.
According to this embodiment, the regenerated air supplied to the dehumidifier 24 by the heater 32 can be heated to reduce the relative humidity of the regenerated air, so that the regeneration effect of the adsorbent can be improved.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, in the air refrigerant refrigerating apparatus 12 (12B), the regenerated air passage 30 has a preheat heat exchanger 34. The preheat heat exchanger 34 preheats the regenerated air by exchanging heat between the regenerated air supplied to the dehumidifier 24 and the air refrigerant discharged from the compressor 18.
According to this embodiment, in the regeneration step of the dehumidifier 24, the regenerated air supplied to the dehumidifier 24 can be preheated by the preheat heat exchanger 34 to reduce the relative humidity, so that the regeneration effect of the dehumidifier can be improved. Further, the heat source of the preheat heat exchanger 34 can be covered by the retained heat of the air refrigerant discharged from the compressor 18, and the preheat heat exchanger 34 cools the air refrigerant discharged from the compressor 18. The thermal efficiency of the air refrigerant refrigerating device 12 (12B) can be improved.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the dehumidifier 24 is composed of a dehumidifying rotor that is rotatably configured around the axis and coated with an adsorbent. The dehumidifying rotor is arranged so as to straddle the air refrigerant passage 16 and the regenerated air passage 30. Of the dehumidifying rotor, a dehumidifying step of dehumidifying the air refrigerant is performed in the region arranged in the air refrigerant passage 16, and in the region where moisture is adsorbed on the adsorbent in this dehumidifying step, the dehumidifying rotor rotates to regenerate air. A regeneration step is performed in which the user moves to the region arranged on the road 30 and desorbs the adsorbed water there.
According to this embodiment, since the adsorbent can be regenerated during the freezing operation of the air refrigerant freezing device 12, the defrosting operation becomes unnecessary and the freezing operation can be continued.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the dehumidifier 24 is composed of a plurality of dehumidifiers 24 (24a, 24b) provided in parallel with the air refrigerant passage 16. Each of the plurality of dehumidifiers 24 is provided with a regenerated air passage 30 (30a, 30b), and is configured to be able to selectively communicate with the air refrigerant passage 16 or the regenerated air passage 30.
According to this embodiment, at least one of the plurality of dehumidifiers 24 (24a, 24b) may perform a dehumidification step of the air refrigerant, and a regeneration step of desorbing the moisture adsorbed by the other dehumidifiers may be performed. can. Therefore, since the regeneration step can be performed without stopping the refrigerating operation of the air refrigerant refrigerating device 12, the defrosting operation becomes unnecessary and the refrigerating operation can be continued.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the dehumidifier 24 is composed of a pair of dehumidifiers 24 (24a, 24b) provided in parallel with the air refrigerant passage 16. A pair of air refrigerant passages 16 (16a, 16b) branched from the air refrigerant passage 16 are connected to the pair of dehumidifiers 24 (24a, 24b), respectively. The regenerated air passages 30 (30a, 30b) branched from the regenerated air passages 30 are connected to the pair of dehumidifiers 24 (24a, 24b), respectively.
Switching valves 36 and 38 are provided in the pair of air refrigerant passages 16 and the pair of regenerated air passages 30 (30a, 30b) on the upstream side and the downstream side of the dehumidifier 24 (24a, 24b), respectively.

By controlling the opening and closing of the switching valves 36 and 38, in the dehumidifier 24 (24a, 24b), the air refrigerant passages 16 (16a, 16b) and the regenerated air passages 30 (30a, 30b) are alternately communicated to dehumidify. The process and the regeneration process are performed alternately. In FIG. 3, the switching valve 36 of the dehumidifier 24 (24a) is opened, the switching valve 38 is closed to perform the dehumidifying step, the switching valve 36 of the dehumidifier 24 (24b) is closed, and the switching valve 38 is opened. Indicates a state in which the regeneration process is being performed.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a dehumidifying rotor is used as the dehumidifier 24, and the regenerated air passage 30 is provided with an attraction fan 40 on the outlet side of the dehumidifying rotor. The regenerated air is attracted to the dehumidifying rotor by the attraction fan 40.
According to this embodiment, the regenerated air passage 30 does not become high pressure by supplying the regenerated air to the dehumidifying rotor by the attraction fan 40 during the regeneration process. Therefore, since the regenerated air can be suppressed from flowing into the air refrigerant passage 16, the air generated by the high temperature regenerated air (for example, the outside air a containing moisture) flowing into the air refrigerant passage 16 on the inlet side of the compressor 18. It is possible to suppress a decrease in efficiency of the refrigerant refrigerating device 12.

The numerical values added to each part of the air refrigerant passage 16 in FIGS. 1 and 2 indicate an example of the temperature of the air refrigerant in each part.

The air-refrigerant refrigeration system 10 (10A, 10B) according to some embodiments includes a freezer 14 and an air-refrigerant refrigeration device 12 (12A, 12B), as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
According to the air refrigerant refrigeration system 10, the dehumidifier 24 is provided on the downstream side of the cold heat recovery heat exchanger 22 in the flow direction of the air refrigerant, and the air refrigerant heated by the cold heat recovery heat exchanger 22 flows into the dehumidifier 24. Therefore, freezing does not occur on the surface of the dehumidifier 24, and even if the dehumidifier 24 is a dehumidifier that uses an adsorbent, the adsorption function of the adsorbent does not deteriorate, so that the moisture contained in the air refrigerant during the refrigeration operation is removed. Can be removed.

As shown in FIG. 4, the air-refrigerant refrigeration method according to one embodiment is provided in an air-refrigerant passage 16 having an air-refrigerant outlet 17a provided inside the freezer 14 and an air-refrigerant suction port 17b including air in the refrigerator. The air refrigerant is circulated (circulation step S10). The compressor 18 provided in the air refrigerant passage 16 cools the object to be frozen in the freezer 14 to raise the temperature, and contains the moisture evaporated from the object to be frozen in the freezer 14 and has a relative humidity of about 100%. Is sucked into the air refrigerant passage 16 and compressed by the compressor 18 (compression step S12). The air refrigerant compressed by the compressor 18 is decompressed and expanded by the expander 20 under substantially adiabatic conditions, cooled to −60 ° C. or lower, and returned to the freezer 14 (expansion step S14). The inside of the freezer 14 is cooled to −60 ° C. or lower by an ultra-low temperature air refrigerant.

The air refrigerant compressed in the compression step S12 and the air refrigerant sucked into the air refrigerant passage 16 from the suction port 17b exchange heat with the cold heat recovery heat exchanger 22, and the air sucked into the air refrigerant passage 16 from the suction port 17b. The refrigerant cools the high-temperature air refrigerant compressed in the compression step S12 (cold heat recovery step S16). Next, the air refrigerant whose temperature has been raised after the cold heat is recovered by the cold heat recovery heat exchanger 22 is dehumidified by the dehumidifier 24 (dehumidification step S18).

According to the above method, in the dehumidifying step S18, the air refrigerant whose temperature has been recovered by the cold heat recovery heat exchanger 22 is dehumidified by the dehumidifier 24, so that the dehumidifier 24 does not freeze and the dehumidifier 24 Even if the dehumidifier uses an adsorbent, the adsorption function of the adsorbent does not deteriorate, so that the water contained in the air refrigerant can be removed during the refrigeration operation.

In one embodiment, in the circulation step S10, the air refrigerant and the object to be frozen come into direct contact with each other in the freezer 14.
According to this embodiment, since the air refrigerant and the object to be frozen are in direct contact with each other, the heat exchange efficiency between the air refrigerant and the object to be frozen can be improved.

In one embodiment, the dehumidifier 24 is composed of a dehumidifying rotor rotatably configured around the axis and coated with an adsorbent, and a regenerated air passage 30 for supplying regenerated air for regenerating the adsorbent to the dehumidifying rotor 30. To be equipped. Then, in the dehumidifying step S18, as shown in FIG. 4, first, the air refrigerant is dehumidified by the dehumidifying rotor in the region of the dehumidifying rotor into which the air refrigerant flowing through the air refrigerant passage 16 flows (dehumidifying step S18a). Next, the region where the dehumidifying rotor rotates and adsorbs the moisture in the air refrigerant moves to the region where the regenerated air passage 30 flows in, and the adsorbent that has adsorbed the moisture is exposed to the regenerated air to release the moisture and the adsorbent. Is regenerated (regeneration step S18c).
By rotating the dehumidifying rotor in this way, the dehumidifying step S18a and the regeneration step S18c are alternately performed in the adsorbent coating region of the dehumidifying rotor.

According to this embodiment, in the dehumidification step S18, the dehumidification rotor rotates, so that the dehumidification step S18a and the regeneration step S18c are alternately performed in the adsorbent coating region of the dehumidification rotor, so that the dehumidification step S18a is continued. The adsorbent regeneration step S18c can be performed.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, before the regeneration step S18c, the regenerated air is heat-exchanged with the air refrigerant discharged from the compressor 18 to preheat the regenerated air (preheating step S18b).
According to this embodiment, by performing the preheating step S18b, the relative humidity of the regenerated air supplied to the dehumidifier 24 can be reduced, so that the regenerating effect of the adsorbent can be improved.

According to one embodiment, in the air refrigerant refrigeration system, the water contained in the air refrigerant can be removed during the refrigeration operation.

10 (10A, 10B) Air Refrigerant Refrigerant System 12 (12A, 12B) Air Refrigerant Refrigerant 14 Freezer 16 (16a, 16b) Air Refrigerant Passage 17a Air Outlet 17b Suction Port 18 Compressor 20 Expander 22 Cold Heat Recovery Heat Exchanger 24 (24a, 24b) Dehumidifier 26 Drive unit 26a Output shaft 28 Primary cooler 30 (30a, 30b) Regenerative air passage 32 Heater 34 Preheat heat exchanger 36, 38 Switching valve 40 Induction fan a Outside air

Claims (11)

An air-refrigerant passage that has an air-refrigerant outlet provided inside the freezer and an air-refrigerant suction port that includes air inside the freezer, and the air-refrigerant circulates.
A compressor provided in the air-refrigerant path and for compressing the air-refrigerant sucked into the air-refrigerant path from the suction port, and a compressor.
An expander provided in the air refrigerant path for decompressing and expanding the air refrigerant compressed by the compressor and returning it to the freezer.
A cold heat recovery heat exchanger provided in the air refrigerant path for heat exchange between the air refrigerant compressed by the compressor and the air refrigerant sucked into the air refrigerant path from the suction port.
It has an adsorbent capable of adsorbing moisture, is provided in the air refrigerant passage on the upstream side of the compressor on the downstream side of the cold heat recovery heat exchanger, and brings the adsorbent into contact with the air refrigerant to bring the air refrigerant into contact with the air refrigerant. a dehumidifier that will be configured to dehumidify,
A regenerated air passage for supplying regenerated air for regenerating the adsorbent to the dehumidifier,
Equipped with a,
The regeneration air passage, the air refrigerant refrigerator according to claim Rukoto that have a heater for preheating the regeneration air supplied to the dehumidifier. The air-refrigerant refrigerating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the air-refrigerant passage does not have an introduction portion for outside air between the air outlet and the suction port. The air refrigerant freezing device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the air refrigerant whose temperature has been raised to 0 ° C. or higher by the cold heat recovery heat exchanger is introduced into the dehumidifier as a dehumidifying target. The regenerated air passage has a preheating heat exchanger that preheats the regenerated air by exchanging heat between the regenerated air supplied to the dehumidifier and the air refrigerant discharged from the compressor. Item 2. The air refrigerant refrigerating apparatus according to any one of Items 1 to 3. The dehumidifier is composed of a dehumidifying rotor that is rotatable around the axis and coated with an adsorbent.
The air refrigerant freezing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the dehumidifying rotor is arranged so as to straddle the air refrigerant passage and the regenerated air passage. The dehumidifier is composed of a plurality of the dehumidifiers provided in parallel with the air refrigerant path.
Any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein each of the plurality of dehumidifiers includes the regenerated air passage and is configured to be able to selectively communicate with the air refrigerant passage or the regenerated air passage. The air refrigerant refrigerating apparatus according to. The air refrigerant freezing device according to claim 5 , wherein the regenerated air passage has an attraction fan for attracting the regenerated air to the dehumidifying rotor on the outlet side of the dehumidifying rotor. With the freezer
The air refrigerant refrigerating device according to any one of claims 1 to 7.
An air-refrigerant refrigeration system characterized by being equipped with. A circulation step of circulating the air refrigerant through an air refrigerant passage having an air refrigerant outlet provided inside the freezer and an air refrigerant suction port including the air inside the freezer.
A compression step of compressing the air refrigerant sucked into the air refrigerant path from the suction port with a compressor, and
An expansion step in which the air refrigerant compressed in the compression step is decompressed and expanded by an expander, cooled, and returned to the freezer.
A cold heat recovery step of exchanging heat between the air refrigerant compressed in the compression step and the air refrigerant sucked into the air refrigerant path from the suction port by a cold heat recovery heat exchanger.
A dehumidifying step of dehumidifying the air refrigerant whose cold heat has been recovered by the cold heat recovery heat exchanger with a dehumidifier,
Equipped with a,
The dehumidifier is composed of a dehumidifying rotor that is rotatable around the axis and coated with an adsorbent.
The dehumidifying rotor is provided with a regenerated air passage for supplying regenerated air for regenerating the adsorbent.
The regenerated air passage has a heater for preheating the regenerated air supplied to the dehumidifier.
The dehumidification step is
A dehumidifying step of dehumidifying the air refrigerant flowing through the air refrigerant path with the dehumidifying rotor,
A regeneration step in which the regenerated air preheated by the heater is supplied from the regenerated air passage to regenerate the adsorbent is included.
A method for refrigerating an air refrigerant , which comprises rotating the dehumidifying rotor to alternately perform the dehumidifying step and the regeneration step in the adsorbent coating region of the dehumidifying rotor. In the circulation step,
The air refrigerant freezing method according to claim 9, wherein the air refrigerant and the object to be frozen are in direct contact with each other. The air refrigerant according to claim 9 or 10 , further comprising a preheating step of preheating the regenerated air by exchanging heat with the air refrigerant discharged from the compressor before the regeneration step. Freezing method.

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